Bessent Dares Traders, Oil Tankers Blown Up, Sugar Mills Survival Battle

Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day.

On today's podcast:

(1) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged traders to test his resolve on boosting Japan’s currency, saying when he makes market calls these days he’s effectively doing so with inside information.

(2) US forces destroyed five Iranian tankers carrying crude oil on Tuesday in response to two attempts to hit a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles in as many days, Central Command said.

(3) The UK, France, Canada and other countries announced coordinated measures against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as western nations sought to raise pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

(4) The US escalated its trade war with Canada following Ottawa’s tariff retaliation, moving to block imports of some products while slapping new tariffs on others, as well as seeking to bar Canadian companies from selling to government contractors.

(5) The Melville Sugar Mill in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province has closed and trees have grown through its brick chimneys, a sign of the struggling sugar industry. The sugar industry sustains more than a million people and provides jobs in a country with high unemployment, but it is struggling to compete with imports and has been in decline since reaching a production peak in 2003.

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